DVD reviews: 'The Bible,' 'The Killing,' and a look at drones DVDs

"The Bible: The Epic Miniseries." Really? You have to hype what has been called the greatest story ever told?

That unnecessary flourish is not unexpected from showman Mark Burnett, the man behind "Survivor" and other reality shows.

The 10-hour miniseries, which concludes tonight on the History channel, was also produced by Burnett's wife, Roma Downey, who starred in the hit "Touched by an Angel" and here plays the Virgin Mary.

The series, Burnett's first non-reality show, has drawn big ratings with more than 10 million viewers per episode. There is, obviously, a built-in audience for this sort of thing, and the show has generated a bit of controversy after some -- including conservative commentator Glenn Beck -- noted that the actor cast in the role of Satan looks a bit like President Barack Obama. The fallen angel is played by Moroccan actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni.

The History channel, Burnett and Downey responded to the to-do by denying there was intention in the casting. "This is utter nonsense," Burnett said in a statement.The miniseries is utter something. I will admit that I gave up on it fairly early on in my viewing. The $22 million project -- from what I saw -- was handsomely mounted, but trying to get both the Old and New Testaments in 7 hours, 20 minutes (the actual running time) makes the many stories seem like a mixtape. I'm sure people will disagree, but save your emails. I don't watch "Survivor," either.

'Killing' momentum

Many fans of AMC's "The Killing" were livid when the series didn't solve the mystery of "Who Killed Rosie Larsen?" after the first season. The reaction practically killed the show, which was canceled when ratings suffered in season two. Then it was uncanceled, and a third season -- with a new mystery -- begins airing in May. For those of you who gave up, the second season eventually did manage to pick up some of the drive of season one. But it slavishly held to the original concept of showing each day of the investigation, which at times slowed the storytelling down. Hopefully, the series learns this time around. It already got some compelling characters, and its leads -- Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman -- are quite good.

Fascinating drones

PBS' "Nova: Rise of the Drones" is a fascinating look at the rapid evolution of unmanned flying robots. While alarms are being raised by some about the world becoming like "The Terminator," where the machines run us rather than the other way around, the program itself is quite balanced in its approach.

One thing we know for sure is that we are entering a new age. The 2012 FAA Reauthorization Act ordered the agency to develop regulations for the testing and licensing of commercial drones by 2015. It is projected that some 30,000 drones could be crisscrossing the nation's skies by 2020. By the way, two California airports -- one in Ventura County, the other in Kern County -- are competing for federal contracts to test-fly nonmilitary drones.Those are the ones likely to be used by law-enforcement departments, but as "Rise of the Drones" shows, even your neighbor can make an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) for a few hundred bucks if he wants to spy on you.